Happy Valentine's Day!

This is what Mike got me for Valentine's Day this year - a great big frog prince balloon!! Pretty cool, huh? Two gaijin and a biiiiiig green frog on a crowded subway... do you think anyone looked at us? :) We had dinner at Desperados, our favorite Mexican place here in Nagoya, which was just wonderful. Coincidentally, today is also our nine-month wedding anniversary. Pretty amazing! Nine absolutely wonderful months in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, my own prince then had to head back to work for a phone conference and a video conference (Hey! Holland! Valentine's Day! Heard of it??), so this is a self-portrait of me and froggie. They do Valentine's Day rather differently here. St. Valentine's Day, as it is called here (a bit curious to me to include the "saint" in a country that doesn't recognize saints, but whatever), is the day when women give chocolates to their men. I walked into Jusco today and there were lines of glass display cases showing the various chocolate selections available. On top of the cases were boxes upon boxes of these chocolates, wrapped and ready to go. So easy! American businesses, take note! Anyway, next month the girls get their turn when White Day is celebrated on March 14. Apparently this name originated with a marshmallow-maker creating an opportunity, but Mike's female colleagues tell him that the appropriate gifts for White Day are accessories - jewelry, purses, necklaces, etc. Fascinating! I would be remiss if I didn't mention that today is Faith G.'s birthday! One year ago today her parents were to be witnessing her aunt's marriage to her uncle at a hockey game in Kalamazoo when she decided to come along! Happy birthday, Faith!